Moraz cites a study performed by Moz.com on the effect of profile clicks on a site’s page ranking in Google. They found that there is a correlation between the two and that one major way to drive more profile views is to have many user reviews. Potential customers searching for a solution will your business’s reviews and give a precious click for your business.

That’s why businesses need to have an after service strategy to encourage users to give their feedback online. It’s an organic means of building local SEO ranking and cementing your business’s reputation.

Remember to fix your SEO problems first

There are so many fronts that businesses need to track that it’s easy to let small problems become big ones. Meraz names a few common SEO problems that are easily fixed such as duplicate listings and improper categories. These small issues can sabotage SEO efforts until they’re fixed by tripping up Google’s algorithm.

Link building is still important, but do it right

Links are vital to obtaining a good ranking on Google, local SEO or not, but the strategy isn’t the same anymore. Creating a flood of links on websites no one has ever heard of such as www.your-directory-of-awesome-businsses.ninja isn’t appreciated. Instead, it’s important to have links from reputable local websites that are frequently visited by people in that community. Good suggestions include local Chambers of Commerce, Better Business Bureaus, and newspaper.

One of my favorite link building ideas offered by Meraz is to join directories like www.HelpAReporter.com to provide expert opinions in exchange for a link to your business in the reporter’s article.

Google’s local SEO algorithm is quickly becoming the Yellow Pages of the 21st century and Meraz’s article provides some great tips on how to get customers pick you. You should check it out. You can find the full article here.